WEEK 1

Introduction to CGI Foundations:

CGI- Computer-generated imagery "; it is translated as computer generated images. CGI effects are widely used mainly in the entertainment industry. Simply put, these are all image elements, such as characters, vehicles, landscapes, which were created exclusively using a computer.

It is impossible to determine a specific moment when CGI technology was created, elements of computer-generated images appeared in the film industry gradually. We cannot assign the beginning of the CGI era to any date. Of course, there are movies that are associated with breakthroughs thanks to the technology used in them. Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" immediately comes to mind as one of the most popular. But long before the film's premiere, computer-assisted sequences were used, for example in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 pioneering film "Vertigo" or "Throne" by Steven Lisbergerg in 1984. The green screen, which is one of the main things associated with computer editing, has also been used for a long time. It was used in a variety of colors, for the filming of Bond films, for Mary Poppins' interactions with animals, or for the original King Kong.

According to FXGuide, Williams took a model of a 5-foot T. rex made by Stan Winston to scan.

The Academy screengrab

Assessment 1 Report Notes:

For the report, I have chosen Minority Report. Feature film created by ILM with some new technologies and ideas which impact the film industry today. Film trailer below:

WEEK 2

Environment composition/Unreal Engine workshops.

Environment- in visual arts, a term that describes an artistic technique that arranges a space in such a way that the viewer entering it is subjected from all sides to the influence of visual stimuli and can experience it intensely. The beginnings of e. Can be found in experiences with the space of surrealists, dadaists, and structuralists. It appeared in the 1950s as a success of interest in matter and visuals, it came from the same sources as pop art.

Shape Language

Creating simple shapes.

Perspective

Perspective is a term that is related to art and is therefore defined as the art of presenting objects in an image as they appear on a real plane.

Lighting

Using light to create the right atmosphere is therefore a way to create an impression on the recipient and arouse interest. The light created in the Unreal Engine enriches the narrative, but also has an interactive function as you move through the different levels.

The real-time light calculation system, a technique related to computer animated films, is able to illuminate complex scenes in such a way that they can respond to changes in lighting. In practice, rasterization means that if light changes occur in a given scene, the previous calculations return, i.e. the path on which the light can reflect when the focus of the lighting moves in real time. The way the light is distributed gives players important visual clues about the shape and material of 3D objects.

WEEK 3

Introduction to Engines. Assessments.

Unreal Engine is a proprietary software of Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games. "Practical game repair skills" is a tool for comfortable game play. The software is primarily able to render graphics (2D and 3D), physical signs, artificial audio program, artificial intelligence. The biggest advantage of Unreal Engine is the language it is written in. The program is designed as a C ++ wizard so it can be converted to various platforms. As a result, it only worked perfectly in the video game industry. Epic has been cooperating with producers of two top series: The Mandalian and Westworld for some time. Moreover, as of 2020, 45 short films and animations have been made thanks to the Unreal Engine. Additionally, the Hollywood Final Date portal has announced that an engine from Epic will be used in the production of Gilgamesh from Hook Up studios.

Mood Board A1:

Super sport car concept and Mountain Environment.

I will be creating hard surface modelling for a sport car Audi R8 with mountain environment. For my project I will be concentrate to aim best possible realism. Some main futures. car, threes, mountains, church, baroque abandoned building or manufacture. Possibly I can make curved roads and some rocks on sides.

Assets I will be using:

-Megascans - Valley
-Megascans - Forest Path
-City Park Environment Collection
-temperate Vegetation: Spruce Forest
-Megascans - Post-Apocalyptic Street
-Megascans - City Street Vol. 4
-Megascans - City Street Vol. 2

WEEK 4

Working with Assets in Engine.

Finding Assets:

Finding Assets - Unreal Engine Marketplace
- Unity Asset Store
- Quixel
- Third Party Websites
- https://clara.io/library
- https://free3d.com/
- https://freesfx.co.uk/
- https://www.textures.com/
- https://www.freeimages.com/
- https://www.pexels.com/

By using assets from marketplace and megascans I build abandoned warehouse and I place trees over the landscape.

Placing trees from other perspective.

Making rooftop from assets.

Short video:

WEEK 5

Materials & Blueprints.

A Material is an asset that can be applied to a mesh to control the visual look of the scene.

Creating shiny materials:

Blueprints is the visual scripting system inside UE4, it is a fast way to start scene. It is used to define object-oriented (OO) classes or objects in the engine

Emissive texture:

Creating textures for landscape.

Making your won texture could be use for mixing it with other one. Picture presenting mixing two textures on landscape

WEEK 6

Substance Painter Workshop.

Baking is the process of transferring surface information into Textures so that every detail of a Mesh doesn’t need to be rendered. Substance Painter’s baking function is suitable for creating multiple Texture maps that can be applied to Assets and props.

Final Render in Substance Painter.

Grey Box/ Assesment 1

For my assessment one I make trees, small church on the chill and road in the background. I used modelling tools to achieve some oh the shapes persented on screens below.

Here there is some another screenshot. I was trying to make some country way where I will placed my super car model for last Assessment.

The idea is to me some small river going on side where road continues over the bridge. My main idea is to create sort of V rally environment for my car.

Assessment 2. Building main asset.

Recently I started modelling my super car and there are some screenshots of my work.

Started modelling my car in Maya by using blueprints I found in the internet. First part was to make front bumper and then area over the lights. Each part I extruded edges and placed vertices by looking at image plane

Lately I concentrate to make doors handle ad I make 4 cylinders to imitate wheels.

Next step was to jump into back of the car and combine and separate each part and work on it individually later. For each part edges were extruded and I make some edge loops to maintenance edges.

Working on break pad here. I used as reference some of the pictures of Brembo pads I found on internet.

Four views perspective:

Final Render:

WEEK 7

Lighting in Unreal Engine 4

Reflection Captures.

Usually used as when not using real time ray tracing. Reflection capture creates localised reflection without reducing performance.

Box Capture.

One of two available in Unreal Engine. They may be placed with no performance impact. They calculating before run time. Blends straight into the scene and its flexible to use in comparison.

Planar Capture & SSR.

Technique to create high quality reflection.

WEEK 8

Architectural Visualisation

To fully understand the meaning of visualization and its use in architecture, ask yourself beforehand whether you understand the meaning of the term well. Thus, in architecture, engineering and construction, a visualization is a kind of graphical presentation (static or moving) of a project. It should be transparent, easy to understand (not only for experts in a given discipline) and should take into account the specificity of the field in which it was used. With the development of computer science, performing visualizations at the drawing table is becoming a thing of the past. Currently, there is a wide range of programs available on the market that allow you to perform a professional presentation of the project relatively quickly.

Zaha Hadid - who was she and what was she famous for?

Zaha Hadid is one of the most recognizable names in the architectural world. Hadid successfully overcame stereotypes and achieved spectacular global successes in the masculinized profession of an architect. She was the first woman to win an architectural Nobel Pritzker Prize and a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Zaha Hadid was from Baghdad and studied in Beirut. From 1979, she ran her own company, Zaha Hadid Architects, but it was not until the 1990s that her projects began to attract attention in the world. Her fame was brought by the design of the fire station, which was built on the Vitra campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Then Hadid realized serious orders for objects, incl. in Germany, Azerbaijan and Hong Kong. However, it gained the most publicity with the project of the Olympic Water Sports Center in London, built in 2012 on the occasion of the Olympic Games. On the wave of popularity, Zaha Hadid launched her brand, and also designed jewelry, shoes and furniture. She died in 2016 of a heart attack.

WEEK 10

Particle Effects.

Particle Effects (Systems) - A technique in CGI that uses many sprites, 3D Models or other graphic objects to simulate phenomena which are otherwise hard to reproduce with conventional rendering techniques. Usually highly chaotic effects, natural phenomena or processes caused by chemical reactions.

Typical uses for particle effects in engine are:

- Snow, Rain & Hail

- Ash, Dust & Debris

- Lighting, Fire & Explosions

- Heat Distortion, Portals, Laser Beams

- Leaves, Petals & Other airborne plant debris

Creating material for Cascade:

Type Data Modules:

Beam - This allows for the setting of the method for generating your beam, It can be one of the following:

- PEB2M_Distance - Use the distance property to emit a beam along the X-axis of the emitter.

- PEB2M_Target - Emit a beam from the source of the emitter to the supplied target.

- PEB2M_Branch - Currently Unused.

Mesh - The Mesh type data module indicated that the emitter should use StaticMesh instances rather than sprite particles. This is great for shrapnel or debris. Ribbon - Ribbon several different properties which are unique to it. You can find more information

Week 11

Post Processing.

Post Processing- the process of applying filter and effects. Commonly used in media and real-time rendering to achive quality improvement methods.

CartoonCelShadingScreenshot4-1920x1080-17434a720510b0f3bc0597910c38f8c4.webp

PostProcessingVolume is a specific type of volume can be added to the scenes. Essencially is only a type of layer. Eeach layer acn have weight and its easy to add blend effects.

source: Epic Games